United States Time Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 2, 1951

95 N.L.R.B. 941 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

UNITED STATES TIME CORPORATION 941
ployees,0 and supervisors 10 constitute a unit appropriate for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b)
of the Act.
As we have found that the multiemployer unit is alone appropriate,
we shall dismiss the petition in Case No. 9-RC-1215 for a single-
employer unit.
5. As it appears from the record that probationary employees
usually become regular employees, we find, in accordance with the
agreement of the parties, that they have a sufficient interest in the
present election to entitle them to a voice in the choice of a bargaining
representative. We find, therefore, that probationary employees are
eligible to vote in the election.'1
Order
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition in C ase No. 9-RC-1215 be,
and it hereby is, dismissed.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
9 As the chemists are required to have knowledge of an advanced type in the field of
chemistry , we will, in accordance with the agreement of the parties ( Globe took no posi-
tion as to its chemist ), exclude the chemists from the unit.
10 We find that the following employees are supervisors , and we will exclude them from
the unit: James Barlow, Charles O. Evans, George Green, Willard McGhee, William
Messing, Fred Rowland, Kelley Wasmer, Mayfield White, Ralph McGhee , Charles Martin,
Elba Rowland , Evan J . Davis, John Waugh, Earl Dunn, Isaiah Graham , James Kontuer,
and Robert Pope.
11 Del Rio & Winter Garden Telephone Company, 85 NLRB 199.
UNITED STATES TIME CORPORATION and LODGE 325, INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS,1 PETITIONER . Cases Nos. 32-RC-327,
32-RC-328, 32-RC-3291 32-RC-330, and 32-RC-331. August 2,
1951
Decision , Order, and Direction of Elections
Upon petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before Anthony J.
Sabella, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the
hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.2
1 The Petitioner 's name appears as amended at the hearing.
' At the hearing , the Clock Workers Federal Union Local No. 24011 , AFL, herein called
the Intervenor , moved to dismiss the petition in each case on the ground of the inappro-
priateness of the unit . For the reasons hereinafter stated, this motion is granted as to the
petitions for units of tool inspectors and mechanics , but denied as to the others.
95 NLRB No. 105.
942 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3: (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with these cases to a three-
member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Houston and-
Reynolds].
Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is -engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9-
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks to represent in separate units the employees
of the Employer's Little Rock, Arkansas, plant, in the following
. categories :. (a) tool inspectors; .(b) machinists and tools crib ..at-
tendant; (c) electricians and electricians' helpers; (d) carpenters
and carpenters' helpers; and (e), maintenance mechanics. The Em-
ployer and Intervenor contend that these units are not appropriate
because of the history of bargaining on a. plant-wide basis.3
The Employer's plant in Little Rock is engaged in the manufacture
of, clocks, watches, and cameras, and is divided into four main divi-
sions of operation:, The fabrication division, camera division, time
division, and the quality control' division. The manager of each of
these operations is responsible to the plant manager, and each has
under his jurisdiction several subdivisions or departments.
The Tool Inspectors
Tool inspectors, of whom there are 2, are presently, employed by
the Employer in its quality control division. They spend their work-.
ing time inspecting tools and gauges which have been made or re-
paired by the toolmakers, tool and die makers, and machinists... 'In
so doing, they use some or all of 40 or 50 different gauges, precision
instruments, and other pieces of equipment, most of which are also
s In 1946, following a consent election, the Intervenor was certified as the collective
bargaining agent for the production and maintenance employees and thereafter entered
into a collective bargaining agreement covering , among others , the employees involved in
this proceeding . The latest such contract was for the period of June 4, 1950, through
June 4, 1951. .
The Employer also points to the Board's decision in United States Time Corporation,
86 NLRB 724, wherein the_Board__dismissed . a petition -seeking the_.em,ployees _.in the
Employer' s maintenance department in a single unit. The Board, in its decision in that
case, stated that "while we have permitted the formation of . . . multicraft units
lwhich include unskilled employees in the absence of a prior collective bargaining history,
it has been our policy to refuse to establish such multicraft units in the face of substantial
history of collective bargaining on a plant-wide basis." The Petitioner here is not seeking
a multicraft departmental unit combining skilled and unskilled employees , but rather
separate units limited to certain crafts.
UNITED STATES TIME • CORPORATION 943
used by the toolmakers , tool and die makers , and machinists . After
inspection , the tools and gauges are sent to the Company's production
divisions to be used in the manufacturing processes . It was' indicated
that a tool inspector . need not know how to do a toolmaker's job,
although he must "know tools ." Although there is no tool inspector
trainee program now in progress at the Employer 's plant, testimony
,establishes that an inexperienced employee would require a minimum
of from 2 to 3 years of training to become a first-class tool inspector.
However, even though they appear to be specialists with considerable
training and some familiarity with the making of tools , it is clear
that they do not possess the skill or ability. of craftsmen . Accord-
ingly, ' and because no other reasons appear which would serve to
justify their severance from the production and maintenance unit in
which they are now included , we shall dismiss the petition in Case
No. 32-RC-327 seeking a separate unit of tool inspectors.
The Maintenance Mechanics •
These employees, as well as the carpenters and electricians, are in
the maintenance department, which is part of the fabrication divi-
sion. They maintain and repairall mechanical equipment used on
production, working wherever necessary throughout the plant and
using wrenches and other such tools classified as "ordinary mechanics'
tools." The specific nature of their work appears to be the dis-
mantling, assembling, and adjusting of presses and lathes, and the
'replacing of parts.' There is no formalized training program for
these employees, but the Employer conceded that "it would take many,
many months to train a man to be a good, first-class mechanic." .How-
ever, as these mechanics do no machine work and perform their
work throughout the plant, using only simple hand tools, it is apparent
that they do not possess sufficiently distinct skills to justify their
severance as craftsmen from the production and maintenance unit.6
We shall therefore dismiss the. petition in Case No. 32-RC-331 involv-
ing these employees.
The Machinists
The machinists, along with an undisclosed number of toolmakers
and tool and die makers,6 and the tool crib attendant, work under the
4 These . parts, however, are made or reconditioned, by, the machinists.
' Sawyer Biscuit Company , 92 NLRB 1447.
The record discloses that, in November 1949, pursuant to a Board -directed election, the
Petitioner herein was certified as the collective bargaining representative of a unit com-
posed of toolmakers, the only employees then working in the Employer 's toolroom ( herein
referred to as the tools department ). Thereafter,,on June 6, 1950, the Petitioner entered
into a contract with the Employer covering the toolmakers and tool and die makers, which
contract expired June 6, 1951. United States Time Corporation, supra.
944 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR. RELATIONS BOARD
immediate supervision of the tools department foreman and under
the general supervision of the fabrication. division manager. The
Employer testified that these machinists perform the rougher part of
a job assignment whereas the toolmaker does the finer part of it. A
tool and die maker was described as "just a better quality toolmaker."
The record indicates that the machinists do all the initial or "rough"
Work on parts used in the maintenance and building of tools and dies.
They apparently perform their work on milling machines and lathes,
and work with tolerances down to one-thousandth of an inch. There
is no apprenticeship program in the plant for employees of this cate-
gory, but in hiring replacements the Employer gives consideration
only to persons with previous machinists' experience. At the hearing,
it was testified without contradiction that it would probably take a
minimum of 4 years to train an inexperienced- employee to become a
class-A machinist. -
Although the record is devoid of evidence as to the duties of the tool
crib attendant here sought to be included. in the machinists' unit, we
assume that he is unskilled and performs the functions usually asso-
ciated with this category-that is, he receives, catalogues, and stores
,tools and parts, and distributes them to the other employees.
It is apparent that the machinists here petitioned for, and the tool-
makers and the tool and die makers already represented by the Peti-
tioner, are segments of the same craft, and together form a group of
toolroom employees such as the Board has frequently held to be en-
titled to separate representation? We shall therefore direct that an
election be held in a voting group composed of the machinists. If a
majority of this group select the Petitioner, they will be deemed.to
have indicated their desire to be represented together with the tool-
makers and tool and die makers in a separate toolroom unit. Be-
cause of the tool crib attendant's close association with the other tool-
room employees, we shall include him in the voting group .8
The - Electricians
The electricians have their headquarters in the electrical shop, where
they report for assignment and keep their tools, Together with their
helpers, they work throughout the plant, using the common tools of
their trade, in the maintenance and repair of electrical outlets, motors,
and other electrical equipment. The Employer has no training pro-
gram for employees in this category, but regards them as craftsmen
and hires as electricians only men with previous electrical experience-
7 The Cornelius Company, 93 NLRB 368.
8 Western Die Casting Co., 90 NLRB No. 264:'
UNITED STATES TIME CORPORATION 945
We find that they are craftsmen who may be represented separately,
despite their previous inclusion in a broader unit.9
We shall direct that an election be held in a -voting group composed
of the electricians and their helpers. If a majority. of this group
vote for the Petitioner, they will be deemed to have indicated a desire
to be represented in a separate unit.
The Carpenters
The carpenters keep their tools and receive their assignments in the
carpenter shop. As in the case of the electricians, they use the tools
common to their trade and, with their helpers, work throughout the
plant on maintenance tasks requiring their craft skill. Their duties
are to maintain and repair all assembly benches, conveyors, partitions,
and other interior construction and equipment. We find that they
constitute a craft group, and may be represented in a separate unit
if they so desire 10
We shall direct that separate elections be conducted among the
of the carpenters and their helpers. If a majority of this group
vote for the Petitioner, they will be deemed to have indicated a desire
to be represented in a separate unit.
We shall direct that separate elections be conducted along the
Employer's employees in the following voting groups, excluding
from each group all office, clerical, technical, and professional em-
ployees, watchmen and guards, all other employees, and supervisors
as defined in the Act :
1. All machinists, including tool crib attendant.
2. All carpenters and carpenters' helpers.
3. All electricians and electricians' helpers.
Order
IT 18 HEREBY ORDERED that the petitions in Cases Nos. 32-RC-32r
and 32-RC-331 be,'and they hereby are, dismissed.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this
volume.]
9 Glass Fibers, Inc., 93 NLRB 1289.
10 General Electric Company, 89 NLRB 726, 754.